Firearm



sept. 26, 1944.

w. B. cQNwAY FIREARM Filed Dec. 2, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1l Sept. 26, i9

w. B. ONwAY FIREARM Filed Deo.. 2, 1940 Mwaff MVV INVENTOR:

Sept. 2s, 1944.

W. B. CONWAY v Fmmma Filed Dec. 2, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 o O nu O O w O o oo OO o oo JO m O PHI a m so. 09W oww. ov OO/ 0 o f. j oo ou `1 2 m fun/11111,

INVENTOR:

Maar/uf 5; (afm/Ay A Patented Sept. 26, 1944 UNITE ST ES 7l Claims.

My invention relates to iire arms and has particular reference to a magazine and cartridge feeding mechanism which is particularly adapted for use with automatic rifles or machine guns.

Prior to my invention the magazines .and cartridge feeding mechanisms oi re arms were so constructed .as .to require the careful loading of either the magazine or auxiliary loading device, or both, in order to provide a supply of cartridges in the gun.

In the case of machine guns, for example, the loading ofrthe gun is effected vby removing .the cartridges one .by one from .the box or container in which they are packaged by the factory .and inserting these-cartridges one at a time .into a belt or drum designed -for use with the `particular gun, due care being had to .point all of the cartridges the .same direction in .the belt vand to insure that each of the cartridges as it is inserted into the cartridge receiving receptacle vprovided in such belt or drum is moved to the proper location.

The requirement for the use of cartridge carrying belts or drumsron thecpresent typesvof machine guns is Vparticularly.disadvantageous when such machine guns are mounted on aeroplanes. IIn'order-to hold a sufcient number of cartridges, the drums must be very large and this is not practical becauseof the space andweight limitations whichrare encountered infaircraft constructions.

Belt type machine guns are, therefore, usually preferred, but the use of the belts gives rise to a different difficulty. The great centrifugal force whichis developed on turns and on pulling out of dives is, of course, applied tothe machine gun belts as Well as vto all parts of the aircraft. It is not uncommon for this force to be suicient, .When acting in a direction opposed torthe'direction of feeding of the belts, to cause the operation of the gun to be arrested. This not infrequently jams the gun, rendering. it useless until such time as the vplane .canbe landed and the necessary repairs andradjustments made.

As is .the case with machineguns, Vso also in the loading of automatic ries or repeating ries, the cartridges must beremoved from the packages or boxes in which`they are shipped from the factory and placed .one at a time either into ,the magazine of the gun or into clips or similar timeduringloadingoperations, a loss whichmay well be of extreme importance when the guns are used in warfare. Furthermore, the ifequireT ment for `'manually loading the' magazine ortl'ie cartridge "holding device Si'ibjeots the person Who Ais performing Ythe'loading 'opi'erat'ion"to the "lia bility of accidents resulting" from `the lhand'linjg'of the cartridges as well'as necessitating-the soiling fof -his hands and perhaps 'his clothing.' AThis latter disadvantageA isl particularly"- urdesirable when the re arms are yin -varic'ius sports, such as target shooting. Furthermore, lal1 of the 'nre' arms vvhich are commercially' available are jin order Ato maintain '-the'sa'me'in operation.Y

`It is therefore'an object "of lmy'zinv'entio'n to provide a yre arm magazine and cartridge fileeding means `therefor Whichovercomes the 'above noted disadvantages by vproviding for the receptionv and feeding of a much largernumbe'r ,of

cartridges than has-hitherto been possible.

`It islalso an object of invention to provide a lire varm magazine ,which is soarrfariged as o .permit the entirecontents cfa box'ofc'artrid s (packed as shipped vfrfomthe factorytofbe jierred to thefmagazine by asingle operation.' ltis a further'object of myx-invention ftoprovidea magazine'of the character 'set forth in ,preceding Y paragraph in, Whih .the ,Calrdg iceiving space within the magazine is of substanthe cartridges are paclg'edfrwherebv the entire contents of the box may be lerni'itied"into 'magazine "It is additionally an object of vmy invention use with amagazirie of the haracterrset fo' h vhereinbefore which includesa'means `for tur g :the cartridges to a' bullet foremostpbsitionfirrespective of their ldisposition "thenrnag'azina vIt is a :still further objgectof -my A inv'en'tion to provide `a cartridge feeding mechanism ,ofthe character set forth `in ythe",preceding' *paragralplfi which includes ameansfor1feeding:checar` dgl? from the lmagazine and' into the chamber" h`e Other objects and advantages of diy-invention shipped. The fire arm which is illustrated in these figures may, for example, comprise a .22

' caliber rie in which case the cartridge receiving space YI4 which is defined by the magazine 1 is made of substantially the same size and configuration as the boxes in which .22 caliber cartridges are sold. .22 caliber cartridges are ordinarily sold in boxes of fifty with every alternate cartridge being packed opposite end to in the form of drive which may be used with the car-` tridge feeding mechanism;

Fig. 4' is a cross sectional view taken substantially along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3 illustrating additional details of construction;

Fig. 5 is an elevational View illustrating the appearance and construction of a cartridge engaging means employed with the feeding means; Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the details of construction of Va device which operates to turn the cartridges to a bullet foremost position irrespective of the disposition of the car- 25 tridges at, the time they are fed to the device; ,Fig, 7 isa perspective view of the magazine with the cover open illustratingthe manner in which an entire box load of cartridges may be received within the magazine;Y

' Fig. 8 is a view. similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating 30 -a different form of magazine which may be employed; Y

Fig. 9 is a .perspective view'v illustrating the open position of the magazine; i

Fig. 10 is a longitudinalsectional view through the magazine which is illustrated in Fig. 9 show-A ing the details of interior constructioniand Fig, 11 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line iH-XI of Fig. 8.

and'facilitating the ready understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 Vthe [magazine and cartridge feeding mechanism as being applied to a rifle of the bolt-action type. It will be readily understood, of course, that the invention is also susceptible to application to guns of. the repeating and automatic type as well as to machine guns and similar types of fire arms.

The re arm which is illustrated in Figs. 1 and ..2 comprises essentially a barrel I carrying front '.cessed'as indicated at 6 in Fig. 2 to receive a lmagazine 1. 'structed along the "lines illustrated in Figs. 2 and The magazine 1 is preferably con- '.7` and comprises a box-like member defined by a rear Wall 8, upper and lower side walls 9 and I0,

'and end walls II and IIa.V The front edges of the upper and lower side walls 9 and I0 arepref- `ceive a front closure member or cover I3. Y

The general shape and size of the magazine r1 is made to substantially conform to the shape 'and'size of a box or package in which the car- 4,0 For the purpose of Vsimplifying the description separators I1.comprise'thin, flat members prefbox; that is to say, alternate cartridges will be placed in the box with the bullet end down,

whereas, the remaining alternate cartridges will be placed in the box with the bullet end up.

In order to the load the magazine the cover I3 is slid to an open position, such as that illustrated in Fig. 7, the magazine is placed directly over an open box of cartridges, and then the'box and magazine are simultaneously inverted so as to permit the entire fifty cartridges to pass as a'unit'from the box in which they were packed into the magazine.

If desired, the cartridge Vreceiving space I4 Y mayrbe madeV of a shape and size conforming to two or more boxes of cartridges placed side by side or end to end. In such case, the magazine is placed over such a. group of open boxes,and.

then the magazine and al1 of the boxes are simultaneously inverted `to transfer the cartridges to the magazine, or the Yboxes may be emptied one at a time-in the manner abovey described by moving the cover .I3 toward closed positionV (after each box is emptied) a suicient distance to retain the cartridges when the magazine is reinverted. After the transfer, thecartridges will rest in the magazine 1 somewhat in the manner illustrated by cartridges I5 in Fig. '1. Thereafter the cover I3 may be slid to a closed position to prevent the cartridges from escaping from the magazine. Y

The end of the lcover I3 opposite to the end II of the magazine'pivotally supports, as by means of a pin I5a, a box-like end member I6 which carries a'plurality' of separators I1. The

erably formed of a stiff resilient material, 'such as spring steel. The members I1 extend forwardly from the memberrl 6 parallel to each other and parallel Yto the length of the magazine 1 and through appropriately disposed slots in the end wall IIa. These members are spaced from each other a distance corresponding to the diameter of the cartridges I5 and each has a length about one cartridge diameter less than the length of the space I4.V Thus, when the cover is sldrto a 5 closed position, the separators I1 are forced b'e- Itween adjacent rows of cartridges I5 so as to divide the entire group of cartridges into ve rows of ten cartridges each as is indicated in Fig. 2. Y

Each of the separators I1V is preferably supported on. the closureV or end member I6 for pivotal movement relative thereto as by securing eachseparator I1 to a pivot member I1a extending transversely ofthe Vmagazine and disposed Within the box-like end member I6. This construction permits the end member I 6 to be moved to an angular position such. as that illustrated in Fig'. '7 before the cover I3 is closed, this operation serving to withdraw or retract the upper i r Y' ones of the separators I1 relative to the lower erably grooved as indicated at I2 to slidably re- 70 itriclg'esrto be uused with the gun arepacked and `7:5

ones so as to stagger the locations of their ends as indicated in Fig.r '7 where the Vparts are broken away. Thus, when the cover I3 is lelosed, the separators I1 engage vertical stacks of cartridges I5 in succession rather than simultaneously, thereby materially reducing the resistance offered by the Acartridges to the closing of the cover.

-Each of these verows of cartridges is preferably urged toward the end wall I I as by slidably supporting within the-magazine 'I a pusher'member I8 which may be slotted as indicated at I9 in Fig. 2 to receive each of the-separator members H. A pair of compression springs 20 and 2I are interposed between the end IIa. and the pusher I8 and preferably between separate pairs of the separatormembers, so as to provide a thrust tending to slide the pushed member I8 to the right as viewed in Figs. 2 and 7. The pusher I8 may be guided in its movement within the magazine I as the cartridges I5 are removed by wings or gui-de members I9a. To permit ready loading of the magazine as previously described, the cover I3 Vis provided with a longitudinal slot 2Ia. having a length substantially equal to the length of required movement of the pusher member I8. A screw-or pin 2 Ib is secured to the pusher member I8 in a position to pass through the slot 2Ia, so that when the cover I3 is slid to an open position such as that illustrated in Fig.. 7, the righthand end of the slot 2Ia will engage the screw 2.I'b'and slide the pusher member to the left to compress the springs 29 and -2 I. After the magazine `is filled the sliding of the cover I3 to its lclosed position releases the pusher member I8, whereupon it is urged to the right by the springs n 26 :and 2I. After the cover is closed, the magazine may be slipped into the recess 6 and held therein as by means of a latch member indicated diagrammatically at 22 in Fig. 2.

Provision may be made for feeding the cartridges .from the magazine I by cutting the upper and lower side walls 9 and I0 to define upper and lower slots 23 and 24. These slots will be aligned with the eXtreme right hand cartridges of each of the rows of cartridges, it being remembered that each of the rows is continuously urged to the right as viewed in Fig. 2 by the springs and 42I.

The cartridges may be fed upwardly through the vupper .slot 23 by employing a feeding mechanism such as that illustrated in Figs. 2 through 5.. l'This 'mechanism preferably includes a feeding member 25 which is slidably received Within an larcuate chan-nel -defined by upper and lower housing members '25a and 25h. The feeding member 25 may `comprise a short length of flexible material 26, such as leather or a suitable fabric. To the under face of the belt 26 is secured, 'as by 'rivets or adhesive, a plurality of bar-like Aspacer members 21, one of such members -being employed for each of the rows of cartridges.

Each yof the `members 2-1 has a length substantially equal to the width of the belt 26 which is in `turn made substantially equal to the overall length of the cartridges I5. Furthermore, the width-of each-of the bar members 2'I is made substantially equal to the diameter of the cartridges I5 and the thickness of the bar members 21 is so larranged that the combined thickness of vbar ymember and belt 26 is such as to loosely ll the lower slot 24.

The feeding member 25 may be moved upwardly through the lower slot 24 and in a direction parallel to the-end wall II toward the upper slot 23 as by providing a driving lever 28 which may 'be pivotally secured at one end to the stock 4 as by means of a pivot 29 and pivotally secured to -the jfeeding member 25 at the opposite end as by means of a -pivo't '30. Substantially straight line motion of the-end carrying the pivot 30 may be insured by providing a vchannel 3| for guiding a sliding block (not shown) which is in turn engaged by a pin 32 carried by the lever 28 and by appropriately slotting the inner end of the lever 28 as indicated at 33. The channel 3l may serve as a housing for a compression spring 34 adapted to normally and continuously urge the lever 28 to a lowermost position disposing the feeding member 25 completely away from the interior of the magazine l.

Vertical pivotal movement .of the lever 28 ina step by step fashion in synchronism with rthe operation of the gun may be produced by employing a cam member 35. The member 35may comprise a cylinder journaled as indicated at 36 for rotation about a vertical axis, the cylinder 35 being provided with a one turn helical groove 31, the upper and lower ends of which are interconnected by a vertically extending groove 38, drivable connection between the cam member 35 and the link 28 being effected as by means of a Ypin 38a which is secured to the link 26 and extended into the groove 31-38.

The cylinder 35 is preferably coupled to the gun in such manner that it is rotated through a fraction of a revolution each time the gun is operated, the drive for the cylinder 35 being so arranged that the sameY number of rotary steps are provided for each operation as there are rows of cartridges I5 contained in the magazine 1. Thus, in the form of the device illustrated in Fig. 2, the cam member 35 is arranged to be rotated through one-fifth of a revolution upon each operation of the gun.

I have illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 one form of drive or linkage which may be employed for so rotating the cam member 35.

In a bolt-action fire arm, such as that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the stock end of the barrel is enlarged as indicated at 39 to receive a sliding bolt 40 which serves the purpose of driving the cartridges into the barrel prior to the firing thereof, houses ahammer mechanism V4 I by means of which the cartridge is fired, and includes an ejector mechanism for withdrawing the shell after the cartridge has been vred. The bolt 4D is preferably cut away as indicated at 42 in Figs. 2 and 4 to permit `the bolt 40 to pass over a U'- shaped drive member 43 which is extended transversely across the rear portion of the bore 39. l

The member 43 includes a short, downwardly depending lug 44 which is .received lin a guiding slot 45 serving to support the member 43 for limited sliding movement in the direction of the length of the barrel I. 'The opposite end of the member 43 includes a spring nger 46 which is extended downwardly through a slot 47 in the barrel I to a point adjacent a ratchet wheel portion 48 which is formed on the upper end of the cam member 35.

The out away portion 42 of the bolt 49 terminates in shoulders 49 and 58 and theseshoulders are so disposed that when the bolt 4U is slid to its foremost position, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the shoulder 56 will, by virtue lof its engagement with the member 43, serve to slide that member forwardly to a position such as that illustrated in Fig. 3.

After the gun is red, the bolt 40 is slid rearwardly for the purpose of ejecting the spent cartridges and the shoulder 49 is disposed in such position that it will engage the member 43 and move the member to a rearwardmost position upon arrival of the bolt 4D to its rear.- wardmost position, the spring finger 46 enmotion of the bolt 48, the movement of the spring finger 46 to its foremostposition past the last tooth 5I is. permitted by the spring character of Ythe finger 46 and the width of the slot 41 through which it is extended; It will thus be seen that the cam member 35 will be rotated through one-fifth of a revolution upon each retraction of the bolt 46, and that such rotation of the cam member 35 will serve to lift the feeding member a distance corresponding to the diameter of, one of the car,- tridges I5. This serves to lift the entire stack of cartridges which is pressed against the magazine end Wall II so that the cartridges are successively passed upwardly through theV upper slot 23, past a spring pressed detent 52, and into the bolt receiving bore 39 through an opening 53 extended through the lower portion of the barrel I.

The lower end of the cam groove 31 is preferablyrmade steeper than is the remainder of the groove so that the first movement of the feeding member 25 is substantially'equal to twice the diameter of the cartridges I5 or sufficient to move the uppermost cartridge in the stack to a sufficient height to reach thev bore'39. Subsequent upward movements of the feeding member 25 are each made equal to the diameter of one cartridge. Y

The operation yof lifting the cartridges occurs upon the retraction of the bolt 40, which retraction serves also to allow a pivoted guiding member 56 which is hingedly supported as by means of a pivot pin 5,1Y to theupper portion'of the barrel to swingk downwardly into the bore 39 intoY a position such as that illustrated by dotted lines lin Fig. 2. Thus, the uppermost cartridge of the end stack is lifted into the bore 38 in a position disposed between arms 56a and 56b of the guiding member `5,6V so that upon forward motion of the bolt 40, the foremost end 58 thereof will engage the guiding'member 56 and swing the same in a clockwise direction'as viewed in Fig. 2. This serves to move thercartridge forwardly along the bore 39.

It will be recalled that the cartridges I5 are arranged alternately in the magazine 1. These alternate ones of the cartridges have the bullet ends thereof pointed in opposite directions.V

I accomplish this turning of the cartridge by means of a turning member 59 which is extend-Y ed upwardly into the barrel I at a point disposed immediately in front of the guiding mem- I ber 56, the turning'member 59 being receivedy prise a, blocklike member of rectangular .form adaptedV to be closely received within the forward portion of the openingY 53. A groove Yor channel 6I is preferably cut into the upper surface of the member 59, that portion of the Vgroove 6I adjacent theforwardmost end 62 of the block 59 having substantiallyna U-shapelincluding a semi-circular lower Y-portion 63 andan upper straight sided portion 64. semi-circularportion 63 conforms to the diamer ter of the bore 39 and isso positioned inthe Vblock 59 as to be accurately aligned with the bore 39 when the block-59 is positioned as indicated in Fig. 2. Y l 'V Y The grooveV 6I extends rearwardly from. the forwardmost face 62 of the block andin so doing gradually changes itsv cross sectional shape to provide a, groove of substantially rectangular cross section at the rearwardmost end 65 of the block. e l V f When rimmed cartridges are used, the sides of the Vblock'are preferably cut away as indicated Yat 68 and 69 in Fig. 6 to provide relatively narrowy wing-like portions 10 adapted to -catch behind the rim portion 1I of the cartridge. The

inner surfaces of the groove 6I are in themselves grooved, as indicated at 12, to provide round bottomed recesssesmore or less conforming to the vcurvature of the end of the bullet portion 13 ofthe cartridge I5. Y

The grooves 12 are tapered to a maxim depth at the locationof the wing portions 16,

cartridge is moved forward by the guiding member 56, it will 'be 4moved into a position such as thatillustrated in Fig. 6 to dispose the flange portion 1I of a rimmed cartridge behind one or the other of the wing portions 10. As the bolt 40 is moved still further forward, the pressure of theY guiding member 56 on the cartridge I5 will serve to swing the cartridge about the Vrim end of the lcartridge as a pivot, forward motion of the bullet end being permitted by the reception `of the bullet .into the groove 1,2 and the forward motion of the rim end of the cartridge being pre, vented by engagement ofthe vrimv 1I with the wing 10. Y i

It will be observed that this pivoting action willtake rplace to swing the bullet endof the cartridge inteV a foremost position irrespective of which of the wings 10 engages the cartridge rim 1I. The Ycartridge I5 thereupon falls into, the

groove 5I which serves to guide the cartridge intoV a bore 39 as the cartridge is pushed forwardly by "the end 58 of thebolt 40. The cartridge is then slid along lthe length of the bore 39V and into the cartridge receiving chamber of the rifle where it may be fired and later ejected in the usual manner. I

' Substantially the same 'operation 'occurs when rimless cartridges are used except that the wings 10 donot catch the cap end ofthe cartridge. The same turning of the cartridge takes place, however, for the reason that the vertical height of the cap end is greater than the width of the groove V12V and so prevents the cap end from moving forward. VForward movementof the bullet end is permitted for the reason that the vertical height of the bullet at its pointis very small Y(in any event much less than the Width of the The diameter ofthe I acteren groove 12) and permits the point of the bullet to pass along thev groove 12. The operation of feeding, firing and ejecting is repeated for each actuation of the bolt 48 until all of the cartridges comprising the stack which is held adjacent the magazine end wall Il is moved one by one into the chamber of the rie.

The retraction of the bolt 48 following the firing of the last one of the cartridges in such stack rotates. the cam` member 35 to a position such that the pin 38a is aligned with the vertical portion 38 of the cam groove, whereupon the compression spring 34 moves the feeding member 25 into its lowermost position in which it is received in its entirety within the arcuate channel which is defined by the housing members 25a and 25o. The magazine springs 20 and 2l then serve to move each of the rows of cartridges I forward a. distance corresponding to the diameter of one of the cartridges, thus establishing a new stack of cartridges immediately adjacent the magazine end wall Il.

The angular positioning of the cam member 35 is preferably such that the above described operation occurs during the rst part of the rotation of the cam member 35 so as to provide ample time for the establishing of the new stack of cartridges. Continued rotation of the cam member 35 serves to lift the feeding member 25 a distance sufcient to move the uppermost cartridge in the new stack into a position immediately before the turning member 59. Thus, it will be seen that the rifle may be repeatedly red and that each time the bolt is actuated to withdraw the spent cartridge, another loaded cartridge will be disposed immediately before the bolt so as to be movedy into the firing chamber of the gun upon the next forward motion of the bolt. It will Abe furthermore observed that this operation can be continued without interruption until the last of the cartridges has-been moved from the magazine.

In case it is desired to remove the magazine from the gun, it is necessary that the feeding member 25 be disposed in its lowermost position. In case the removal of the magazine is desired at a time when the feeding member no1- mally occupies a position other than this lowermost position, the feeding member may be moved to its lowermost position as by withdrawing the pin 38a which is for this purpose preferably extended exteriorly of the stock 4 to permit its ready retraction. Retraction of the pin 38a will permit the compression spring 3A to disengage the feeding member 25 from the magazine so that the magazine may then be Vremoved from the gun.

I have foundv that considerable resistance is offered to the lifting of the feeding member 25 when the cartridges l5 are of relatively large caliber for the reason that as the stack of cartridges is lifted by the feeding member, the rows of cartridges tend to bev pushedV into the spaces between adjacent cartridges in the stack, requiring these rows to be pushed back against the force of the magazine springs 20 and 2| by the lifting of the cartridges in the stack.

I have illustrated in Figs. 8 through 11 a modified form of magazine which overcomes this disadvantage and which is particularly adapted for use on automatic rifles and machine guns bccause it reduces the power required to Operate theV feeding mechanism. This magazine comprises a box-like member including a bottom Wall 15, at one edge of which is formed a rear wall and at the opposite edge of which is formed a front wall portion 11, the portion 11 having a width somewhat less than one-half of the width of the back wall 16.

To the upper edge of the back wall 16 is hingedly attached a cover portion 18 including an upper wall portion 19 which carries on its free or outer edge a front wall portion 80, the wall portion having a width substantially equal to the wall portion 11' and the width of both of these portions being so adjusted as to denne a slot eX- tending the full length'of the magazine when the cover 18 is moved to a closed position. One end of the magazine is left open and the other end is closed as by means of end closure members 8| and 82 carried bythe box and cover portions, respectively.

Within the interior of the box portion and upon the rear wall 16 I slidably support a U- shaped member 83 which includes a rear leg 84 having a Width substantially equal to the interior width of the rear Wal1A16 and guided for slidable movement in the direction of the length of the magazine as by providing therein a slot 85 within which is received a lug 86 carried by the rear wall 16.

The bottom portion and other leg of the U are defined by upper and lower members 81 and 88 which are spaced from each other so as to dene a slot 89 having awidth conforming to the width of the slot which is left between the front wall portions 11 and 80 when the cover 18'is placed in a closed position. The member 83 may be slid to a forward position such as that illustrated in Fig. 10 in which it will define a space between the bottom portion of the U-shapedmemberand the open end of the magazine substantially conforming to the size and shape of one or more of the boxes or packages within which the cartridges are packed. Thus, the entire contents of one or more boxes of cartridges may be transferred to the-magazine and enclosed' within the space defined by the U-shaped member.

It is intended that proper operation of the magazine will re-distribute the cartridges within the magazine in such manner as to dispose these cartridges in two long rows lsuch as twenty-live each rather than the ve rows of ten each as was the case with the previously described modification. For this purpose I employa distributing member 98 which may comprise a length of fiat tubular material pivotally secured to the bottom wall portion 15 of the magazine as by means of a pivot pin 9| permitting the distributing member to be moved from an open position, such as that illustrated in Fig. 9, to a closed position, such as that illustrated in Fig. 8.

The distributing member is adapted to be received inv its closed position within the slot 89 and the corresponding slot which is dei-ined by the adjacent edges of the forward wall portions 11 and-80 and may be supported within the magazine in alignment withsuch slots as by employing spacer or block members 92 and 93 disposed on opposite sides of the member 98. The block members 92 and 93fserve also to dene an end wall for the magazine to preventthe inadvertent escape of the cartridges from the mag- Aazine after they have been initially placed therein and before the member is moved to its closed position.

After the cartridges have been placed within the confines of the U-shaped member 83, the distributing member 90 may be pivotally moved from the open position as illustrated in Fig. 9

to the closed position 'as illustrated in Fig. 8, an under surface 94 of the distributing member 90 being thus brought V'into-engagement withk the cartridges which have been placed :within the magazine. 'This action tends to mash thegroup cartridges and, by virtue Vof their cylindrical shape, causes them to rollY over eachother and gradually be pushed out into a relatively elongated grouping, this lengthening of the cartridge grouping being permitted ,by the slidable move- Yment of the U-shaped member 03 on the rear wall 1li.v i 1 .v

The pivot'pin Y9| is so located relative to the magazine and relative to the cartridge engaging surface 94 as to cause that surface to be disposed a distance from the rear wall 16 whenthe distributing member 90 is in its Aclosed position which is equal to twice the diameter of a cartridge so that there is thus defined an elongated cartridgerreceiving spacecapable of containing two Vlong rows of cartridges disposedY` somewhat in the manner illustrated in 8. Y

rThe block'members 92 and 93 previously referred to have their lower faces disposed in align- Yment `with the cartridge engaging edge 94 so that by moving'the distributingmember V90 toits closed position, Vthe end of the magazine is opened to permit free passagey of two rows of cartridges therefrom. Until the magazine is installed on the rifle, howeveryit is desirable that the cartridgesVV be forcibly retained within the `ing mechanism which may be constructed and arranged'along the same lines as that described in connection with the previously described modification of my invention, both rows of cartridges are fed toward fsuch feeding mechanism by the combined action of the spring |03 and the pusher member'll.

vItwill be appreciated, of course, that the pusher member vmust .be withdrawnin such direction as to compress the spring |03 when'the magazine vis tobev refilled and for this purpose I provide a notch |04 ,in the forward wall 'I1 permitting the pushermember to be slid along the length ofthe distributing member 90 when that member is moved to an open position such 'as that illustrated in Fig. 9. This Ypermits the pusher memberll to be moved to a completely retracted' position such as that illustrated in Fig. 1() andY closing of the distributing member may be permitted as by notching the front wall portions 11 and 80 as indicated atV |05 and |06.

Similarly, the bottom portion of the U-shaped member 83 should benotched as indicated at |01 to permit the pusher member |0| to pass the cent the end of the recess Within which the magazine is received so that as the magazine is slid upwardly into the recess, Ythe detent 95 will be withdrawn to open the end of the magazine and permit the cartridges to be moved-into-the feeding mechanism of the gun; n

The above described operation of redistributing the cartridges in the magazine is, of course, performed with the cover member 18 in a closed position and the distributing member 90 preferably serves also to lock the cover member 80 .in such closed position. For this purpose the end walls 8| and 82 are provided with notches 90 and 99 adapted to receive the distributing member 90 so that when the distributing member 90 is received in theser notches, the cover is held in the closed position.

The cartridge engaging surface 04k of the tubu- Y l lar distributingY member 90 is preferably slotted The pusher member |0|Y is normally urged to^ Ward the open end of the magazine as by inter-v posing a compression spring .|03 between the Vpusher member |0| and the outermost end of the distributing member 90. Thus, as the cartridges are fed into the rie barrelby means of a feedlower portion and directly ergage the cartridges containedV Within theV magazine.

If desired, the distributing member 90 may be retained in its closed position as'by providing a hinged catch |08 which is pivotally secured to the forward wall portion 11 as indicated at |09 in a Vposition to be moved into a locking po-Y sition extending across the back of the distributing member 90.

In theforegomg I'have described the operationof both vforms of the magazine of my inventionand operationof the feeding mechanism of my invention as being adapted for use with a bolt-action type of rifle. VIt will, of course, be apparent from the description in which the'feeding mechanism is vdriven by the action of the bolt that'the'same 'principles of operation may be adapted to use with automatic rifles or machine guns by merely appropriately linking the feeding mechanism to the bolt or equivalent reciprocating firing and ejecting mechanism.v

Attention ris also directed to the fact that the magazine of my invention obviates the necessity of handling cartridges one at a time and instead permits one or more'entire boxes of cartridges as they are supplied from the factory to be emptied as a unit into Ythe magazine and that the maga.- zine and feeding mechanism described hereinbefore function feed cartridges into the firing mechanism of the gun in a proper manner so as to permit the firing of such cartridges.

Attention is' furthemore directed to the fact that this proper feeding of the cartridges is obtained irrespective of the manner in which the cartridges are packed Within the box.

i While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of myv invention, I do not desire to be limited to any of the details of con- A struction shown or described herein, except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: Y

1. A fire arm magazine comprising a box-like member defining an interior space closely conforming in size and shape to the interior of a factory packed box of cartridges with which said magazine is to be used; a slidable cover for clos- Y 'ing said box-like member; and a plurality of separating members carried by said cover in a position to separate said cartridges into a plurality of rows upon closing of said cover.

2. `In a fire arm including a cartridge firing chamber and an action for ring and ejecting cartridges from said firing chamber, the combination of: a box-like magazine capable of receiving the entire contents of a factory packed box of cartridges with which said magazine is tobe used and holding said cartridges in substantially the same relative positions as that occupied by said cartridges in said box; pusher means normally urging said cartridges toward one end of said magazine to provide a stack of cartridges adjacent thereto; a feeding member projectable into said magazine to engage an end cartridge in said stack; means mounting said feeding member for movement through said magazine in the direction of the length of said stack; means coupling said feeding member to said action and responsive to operation thereof for positively moving said feeding member upwards a distance substantially equal to the diameter of one of said cartridges to thereby expel from said magazine kthe opposite end cartridge of said stack; means for conveying a cartridge so expelled to Said action; and spacer means on said feeding member for lling the spaces left by each feeding movement of said stack to thereby hold the remainder of said cartridges against movement toward said one end of said magazine.

3. In a fire arm including a cartridge ring chamber` and an action for firing and ejecting cartridges from said firing chamber, the combination of: a box-like magazine capable of receiving the entire contents of a factory packed box of cartridges with which said magazine is to be used and holding said cartridges in substantially the same relative positions as that occupied by said cartridges in said box; pusher means normally urgingsaid cartridges toward one end of said magazine to provide a stack of cartridges adjacent thereto; a feeding member projectable into said magazine to engage an end cartridge in said stack; means mounting said feeding member for movement through said magazine in the direction of the length of said stack; means coupling said feeding member to said action and responsive to operation thereof for positively moving said feeding member upwards a distance substantially equal to the diameter of one of said cartridges to thereby expel from said magazine the opposite end cartridge of said stack; means for conveying a cartridge so expelled to said action; spacer means on said feeding member for lling the spaces left by each feeding movement member defining an interior space closely conforming in size and shape to the interior of a factory packed box of cartridges with which said magazine is to be used; a cover mounted on said box-like member for movement between open l and closed positions; a plurality of separating of said stack to thereby hold the remainder of members; and means coupling said separating members to said cover for moving said separating members to a position separating said cartridges into a plurality of rows upon closing of said cover.

5. A re arm magazine comprising a box-like member defining an interior space closely conforming in size and shape to the interior of a factory packed box of cartridges with which said magazine is to be used; a closable cover for said box member; a plurality of separating members; means coupling said separating members to said cover for moving said separating members to a position separating said cartridges into a plurality of ro-ws upon closing of said cover; and means coacting with said cover and releasable in response to closing thereof for urging all of said rows of cartridges toward one end of said box member.

6. A fire arm magazine comprising a box-like member defining an interior space closely conforming in size and shape to the interior of a factory packed box of cartridges with which said magazine is to be used; a closable cover for said box member; a plurality of thin flat lingers carried by said cover in a position to be moved lengthwise between said cartridges upon closing of said cover to divide said cartridges into a plurality of rows; a pusher member in said box member for engaging said cartridges, said pusher member having formed therein a plurality of slots for receiving said fingers; and spring means extended between an end of said box member and said pusher member and releasable upon closing of said cover member to resiliently urge said pusher member into engagement with said cartridges.

7. A fire arm magazine comprising a box-like member defining an interior space closely conforming in size and shape to the interior of a factory packed box of cartridges with which said magazine is to be used; a slidable cover for closing said box-like member; a support; means mounting said support on said cover for limited angular movement about an axis parallel to the length of said cartridges; a plurality of spaced separating members of substantially equal length; and means securing one end of each of said separating members to said support for limited angular movement about axes disposed parallel to the length of said cartridges, whereby angular movement of said support disposes the other ends of said separating members in staggered relationship and whereby closing of said cover slides said supporting members between said cartridges to separate the same into a plurality of rows.

WOODVILLE' B. CONWAY. 

